I've got just under 3000 hours on a VPL-HS51 that I bought in December 04. Last month or so a blue smear has been growing from the bottom of the screen. Its most visible on a black background. I tried putting in my standby new bulb and that didn't change anything so at least some good news is that my original bulb is still going strong. I've read the horror stories about folks being quoted thousands of dollars to get it fixed by Sony as they replace the whole optical block. I'm wondering if anyone has tried tackling this themselves?

I snagged the service manual from here back when the unit was first being discussed so I have directions on how to get at the optical block and remove the polarizer plates. There's some nice pics of it in the Cine4home HS60 review (http://www.cine4home.com/reviews/projectors/SonyVPLHS60/HS60Review.htm).

http://www.cine4home.com/reviews/projectors/SonyVPLHS60/Pict15.jpg

I'm hoping I can clean them and get an improvement in the blue smear. Any idea on what I could use to do the cleaning? If that doesn't work and I can see damage on the polarizer(s) I'll try to purchase new polarizer plates. Anyone know a source for these?

I'll make sure to take lots of pics and put it all up on my website to help out the next poor sap. I paid over $4000 CDN for this unit and > $1 per hour just doesn't cut in my book. I'll be VERY upset if I can't get it fixed (for a reasonable price).

The PJ has been mounted in my finished basement which never gets warm and has the lamp running in low power mode to keep the fan noise minimal. Dust filters have been replaced at recommended intervals. Except for this recent development its been a pleasure to own and use.

I noticed this same thing about a month ago starting in the upper right hand corner of the display- it started around the same time that a warning message came on in the lower left corner that told me to replace bulb -so I assumed the smear was just a byproduct of the bulb going bad--your post that you switched to a new bulb with no improvement is disturbing to say the least--what is the root cause of this problem--is it widespread--I've had my unit about 2 1/2 years and this is my 3rd bulb

what did sony service dept say about this?

Clyde--404-314-4370

I sent mine back to Sony under warranty, they ended up changing the blue polarizer.

They also swapped out the entire lens assembly. I only paid for shipping.

This is a Canadian unit. Warranty only lasted 1 year. This is approaching the end of the 3rd year. I don't think that service number will work from Canada. A fella on here sent his unit to Sony service, cost him $85, only to be told it'd be $2200 to fix. :eek:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=786819&highlight=blue+polarizer+HS51

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=794033&highlight=blue+polarizer+HS51

I would imagine most people are out of warranty on their HS51's so this may become a popular topic...

Here's a pic with my windows background set to black (I also set iris to off and lamp to high to accentuate the problem):

http://www.ronin-tech.com/gallery/d/10776-1/blue_smear.jpg

This is where buying an extended warranty pays dividend.
I would try to buy the part and replace it myself. If it works fine otherwise buy a new unit.
I know 51a has new plates in them hopefully more robust.

This is where buying an extended warranty pays dividend.
I would try to buy the part and replace it myself. If it works fine otherwise buy a new unit.
I know 51a has new plates in them hopefully more robust.

:confused:

I'm not sure how telling me that "an extended warranty pays dividend" helps when I've said I don't have one? Congratulations if you have an HS51A with an extended warranty. Go start your own thread so you can pat yourself on the back rather than using someone else's where you state the obvious, repeat comments from the original post and provide no help whatsoever.

It sounds like the internals of all the models in the last 3-4 years is pretty similar. Looking forward to hearing from anyone that has had one of these units apart.

I was merely pointing out to those who read this thread and planning to buy a new unit.
No I did not buy the extended either.
I have been helping all HS series owner for a long time and surprised with your lack of knowing and uncalled aggressive tone.
No, internals of 51A is new compared to 51 i.e., panels &filters and some more.

Sorry if I upset you CaspianM. I've just read so many helpful posts on here that yours caught me off guard. As I mentioned in my original post if I can't clean it I'm looking for tips on sourcing the part and replacing it myself. If that works excellent otherwise I obviously need a new display unit.

I had heard about some of the differences but I was under the impression that for the purposes of dismantling they were all quite similar and so anyone who's been into their HS50/51/51A/60 might be able to help.

I am sure someone will help.
There was someone who posted step by step changing the panels in Sony just about two three months ago.

Did some more searching and came across this handy page to get part numbers and ordering information for Sony electronics:

https://servicesplus.us.sony.biz/sony-parts.aspx

Looks like everything is in stock atm if I can't fix it with dust removal/cleaning. Here's (http://www2.sonysupport.com/PF/041031/996808201/explodedview/opticsblock2.PDF) the pdf showing the part numbers for the in-polarizers. A post (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=657027&highlight=remove+unscrew+Sony) mentioned they take more abuse than the out ones.

i called Laredo-Repairs 18002822848 described the problem with the Blue Smear polarizing panels and was told that even though my unit was out of warranty that SONY would fix for a flat rate of $135 which pays for parts, labor and the shipping back to me in Atlanta-- seems too good to be true since retail cost of parts alone is close to $240--but I think this is my route for now YRMV

Wow. Jump on it. It could have been a good idea to get his/her name.

i called Laredo-Repairs 18002822848 described the problem with the Blue Smear polarizing panels and was told that even though my unit was out of warranty that SONY would fix for a flat rate of $135 which pays for parts, labor and the shipping back to me in Atlanta-- seems too good to be true since retail cost of parts alone is close to $240--but I think this is my route for now YRMV

Does the picture above look like the same problem that you have ceriiiga? That sounds like an amazing deal! Anyone know the Canadian equivalent phone number for Sony service?

Can someone post the service manual for HS51 or post a link, please.

Thanks
Gireesh

It'll be a miracle to get any company to fix burnt polarizers for $135 shipped. Tech. support probably thought the panels need cleaning of dust blobs which can appear blue but in round blobs as well.

This is why organic LCD panels exposed to heat over 2 years+ will ALWAYS be inferior to SXRD and DLP.

So any further news from Laredo on your $135 fix? I'm about to ship off mine. I just found this thread and you certainly have my hope that this worked out. $2200 for a fix is exhorbitant.

Dartinbout

My projector is 28 months old--just barely out of warranty and recently developed the blue smear----Frankly, I'm more than a little bit unhappy that an expensive piece of equipment uses panels that burn out at all, and I am doubly pissed off that it would happen this quickly, --I contacted Laredo and was quoted over the phone the $135 out of warranty repair-so I packed my projector up and sent it to Texas and after several days I received an email with a proposed invoice for repair that was $2200 with 2 options on the repair sheet--accept it, or ask to have it shipped back--needless to say I had them ship it back--------so I would love to know if anyone has had different outcome from Laredo with their blue smear problem--if you got it fixed and have the paperwork still available I'd like to followup via email to discuss details ---- ceratlanta@comcast.net

I started getting the blue smear at about 2.5 years, approx 3000 hrs (3rd lamp). Out of warranty, I sent it to Texas and got the $2200.00 repair estimate. I had them send it back with no repair. Now I sit with a spare lamp in the box, and a failing projector in a basement man cave/sports bar. I paid $3499.00 and am not too happy with Sony. I overspent my budget on the basement project and my wife is not too happy with me. I cringe to go down there sometimes because all I can look at is how the blue smear is evolving. It does seem to lessen after an hour and a half or so but then the whites seem to take on a yellowish tinge in cetrain areas. Not a happy cellar dweller with football season in full swing and baseball playoffs approaching!

I just sent me to Lardo and the out of warranty cost to fix this

"The estimate of $ 2276.83 for the Sony product you have inquired about is waiting approval for the repair"

WTF! That's more then I paid for it. Anybody else have any ideas?

Ask them to just replace the blue polarizer panel. Its "only" a couple of hundred $ and is reported to be the main issue. Its the first polarizer panel in the light path after the bulb and takes the most heat which is why it degrades before the other polarizers. Worth a shot if they already have it.

What happens when a white screen is displayed from the computer? Does it show all blue?

What happens when a white screen is displayed from the computer? Does it show all blue?

Nope. Its a lot harder to see the blue smear with a white background than with a black one as shown above.

I replaced mine on an older Panasonic model and it wasn't too difficult. I think I paid about $100 for the part. I've taken apart my HS51 before and the only tricky part is the connectors to the panel ribbons that connect them to the main circuit board. My HS51 is now sitting in the closet with about 2000 hours on the lamp since I've upgraded to the Epson 1080 . I don't recall seeing this issue on my Sony but the Panasonic showed it around this time. I would try to fix it myself or replace it since it's not worth sending it to Sony.

Hey,
I had the blue smear over 65% of my screen. It's warranty ran out in Dec. of '06. I had given up on it and was planning on buying another PJ. On a lark, I got a RMA from Sony's online site. I got A UPS label for $12 and shipped it to them on 9/7. I followed up and tracked the RMA on their site. On 9\17 the site said it would cost me $2239.85 to fix my projector. I called Laredo and spoke to a nice lady on the phone and asked her about the charge. Okay everybody here's what she said. "Oh that's a mistake, we'll fix if for you under warranty" I asked how much she said.....wait for it...NOOOOOOO CHARRRRRRRRGE! When I could breathe again, I asked what about my expired warranty, she "No really, you pay nothing." I asked about shipping it back, She said you should have it by the end of the week......no charge. Lo and behold, UPS deliverd my projector on 9/20. Ladies and gentlemen, I highly reccommend, if your HS-51 has a case of the "Blue Meanies", jump on this ASAP, cause Sony has never been that known for it's customer service and this all may be a fluke. Any way YMMV but my PJ is throwing a beautiful image and I couldn't be happier.

My blue-spot is growing so fast, it's now 40% in couple weeks. Just waiting on sanyo to get the z2k on the street.

Now, this is good news, at least i could fix my hs51 for free then keep it for backup or sell it to get extra lamp. $12 is not much to try my luck. Hope the lady take my phone...LOL

I don't know the lady made a mistake about your warranty or that's a recall about this problem we don't know about... But you got it for free!! That's way cool, congrat!

dartinbout,

what is the telephone number for Laredo? thanks.

It was on the Sony Support website when the RMA was active. The only other number I have is 800-222-7669. Hope this helps.

Update, OK I really need to make a decision on what to do with this PJ. I took it apart today. Very straight forward. Click the pics for bigger versions.

http://www.ronin-tech.com/gallery/d/12272-6/IMG_1197.JPG (http://www.ronin-tech.com/gallery/v/family/HomeAudioAutomation/album_001/album/IMG_1197.JPG.html) http://www.ronin-tech.com/gallery/d/12279-2/IMG_1199.JPG (http://www.ronin-tech.com/gallery/v/family/HomeAudioAutomation/album_001/album/IMG_1199.JPG.html) http://www.ronin-tech.com/gallery/d/12291-2/IMG_1203.JPG (http://www.ronin-tech.com/gallery/v/family/HomeAudioAutomation/album_001/album/IMG_1203.JPG.html) http://www.ronin-tech.com/gallery/d/12294-2/IMG_1204.JPG (http://www.ronin-tech.com/gallery/v/family/HomeAudioAutomation/album_001/album/IMG_1204.JPG.html)
http://www.ronin-tech.com/gallery/d/12297-2/IMG_1205.JPG (http://www.ronin-tech.com/gallery/v/family/HomeAudioAutomation/album_001/album/IMG_1205.JPG.html)http://www.ronin-tech.com/gallery/v/family/HomeAudioAutomation/album_001/album/IMG_1206.JPG.html (http://www.ronin-tech.com/gallery/v/family/HomeAudioAutomation/album_001/album/IMG_1206.JPG.html) http://www.ronin-tech.com/gallery/d/12303-1/IMG_1207.JPG (http://www.ronin-tech.com/gallery/v/family/HomeAudioAutomation/album_001/album/IMG_1207.JPG.html) http://www.ronin-tech.com/gallery/d/12306-1/IMG_1208.JPG (http://www.ronin-tech.com/gallery/v/family/HomeAudioAutomation/album_001/album/IMG_1208.JPG.html) http://www.ronin-tech.com/gallery/d/12312-1/IMG_1210.JPG (http://www.ronin-tech.com/gallery/v/family/HomeAudioAutomation/album_001/album/IMG_1210.JPG.html)

You just need a Phillips 0 and 1 screwdriver. Magnetized is handy for the innards. 2 screws come off the back then a bunch of long and short come off the bottom. This lets you remove the plastic casing. Carefully removing the connectors and some screws lets you take the metal shield off. The connectors are all different sizes so I don't think you could put them back wrong. Next remove the ribbon connectors. The brown ones have a bit that flips up which lets you pull out the ribbon. The silver one you simply pull a clip out and then pull the ribbon. Once the board is out you can see the optical assembly with the polarizer plate housing. To take out the assembly there's 2 screws at the back, 2 at the front plus another 2 smaller ones at the front holding plastic tabs. Once you remove these you can lift out the polarizers as a unit. Only gotcha when putting back together was to watch the connector at the bottom left of the digital board (assuming the lens is facing you). The plastic sleeve it rides in should go outside not inside the metal shield.

While it was apart I took a look at the blue polarizer and I can see a different shade rectangle on it where I imagine it should be 1 uniform color. Unfortunately I saw nothing that would explain my pixelated lines that have appeared near the blue smear area (white, blue and grey backgrounds):

http://www.ronin-tech.com/gallery/d/12236-2/IMG_1216.JPG (http://www.ronin-tech.com/gallery/v/family/HomeAudioAutomation/album_001/album_001/IMG_1216.JPG.html) http://www.ronin-tech.com/gallery/d/12239-2/IMG_1217.JPG (http://www.ronin-tech.com/gallery/v/family/HomeAudioAutomation/album_001/album_001/IMG_1217.JPG.html) http://www.ronin-tech.com/gallery/d/12254-1/IMG_1222.JPG (http://www.ronin-tech.com/gallery/v/family/HomeAudioAutomation/album_001/album_001/IMG_1222.JPG.html) http://www.ronin-tech.com/gallery/d/12257-1/IMG_1223.JPG (http://www.ronin-tech.com/gallery/v/family/HomeAudioAutomation/album_001/album_001/IMG_1223.JPG.html)
http://www.ronin-tech.com/gallery/d/12266-2/IMG_1226.JPG (http://www.ronin-tech.com/gallery/v/family/HomeAudioAutomation/album_001/album_001/IMG_1226.JPG.html) http://www.ronin-tech.com/gallery/d/12269-2/IMG_1227.JPG (http://www.ronin-tech.com/gallery/v/family/HomeAudioAutomation/album_001/album_001/IMG_1227.JPG.html)

I can take it in to the local Sony service center and get it diagnosed for $100. If I proceed with a fix, that comes off the bill. If they tell me it'll cost hundreds of $ to fix and I decide to buy a new PJ I'm out another $100. I might try to take my laptop with all of these pics into the service center and see if they can give me a clue. I know $100 is a fraction of the $4-5K I paid for this PJ but its still $100. Has anyone had anything like this fixed by just replacing the polarizer? I'm thinking anything else more expensive wouldn't justify a repair vs just buying a brand new PJ. Again its out of warranty and we don't have anything like Laredo in Canada. I'm at my wits end trying to decide what to do. Thoughts?

To the folks looking at the newer Sony's, make sure you buy an extended warranty!!

NOTE: The smear and lines are usually lower left when ceiling mounted but I'd taken the PJ down and disabled the image flip to run it off the coffee table after checking out the polarizers.

Ditto everything ronin said, tagging along.
Mine is now an expensive paperweight with a spare bulb.

even though you are out of warranty if you're willing to buy another sony you may be able to get approx $1200 off the price of a replacement cost of vpl50 or vpl60 tha you purchase off the sonystyle website if you make a formal complaint of the blue smear problem to the sony special customer service section in NY

It seems this describes the issue that I'm having. I was on my second bulb with about 4,000 total hours and had a very noticeable blue area on the upper area of the screen (my projector isn't ceiling mounted, it's right side up). When watching a Black and White movie a blue tint can be seen on almost the whole screen, in addition to the very blue top portion. The blue area comes down about 15 - 20% of the picture height and is static, it doesn't move at all. I can also see hazy blue lines right at where the 4:3 picture area ends. The bottom right hand corner of the screen looks to be the best area, B/W movies look gray rather than blue in this corner. In some scenes I can also see a bit of Yellow "noise" in the picture. Not sure how to exactly describe it, very small area's of the screen that have a yellow tint, probably attributable to dust on a ploarizer? This is a minor annoyance compared to the Blue issue.

I was hoping (against logic) that a new bulb would correct the issue, my second bulb was at 2,100 hours, right around where the first bulb failed. I remember when I replaced the first bulb noticing a HUGE difference in screen brightness, almost like I got a brand new projector, JOY! Sadly the third bulb made no difference at all, still the blue fringe and no difference in screen brightness.

That brings me to a few questions, I've ready and searched through many posts and still don't have a grasp on the potential fix.

First and foremost, do the Blue IN and OUT filters truly affect the blue screen color? Would a defective Blue polarizer cause too much Blue or a lack of Blue?

Second, logically the slight blue edges/bleeding I see at the 4:3 picture boundary can't be caused by the IN polarizer, the light here would always cover the full 16:9 area of the filter. So if this problem can even be fixed by replacing the Blue polarizer I would definitely have to replace the OUT filter, even if the IN filter is also bad, right?

This brings another question up, I understood that the reason that the Blue filter was more prone to problems was that it was the first in line, taking the most heat from the projector bulb. If that's true then why would my OUT polarizer be showing issues before the Red and Green IN polarizers? They would seem to be getting far more heat/abuse than the further downstream Blue OUT filter. The only two explanations would be that it's not the OUT filter causing this but either the LCD panel itself or that the material used for the Blue filters is more likely to be damaged by heat than the Red and Green filters (or prism, see below). This could explain why the downstream OUT filter is bad when the other (hotter) IN filters are good. Of course it appears that the OUT filters are also smaller in size and could be heat damaged that much further downstream.

I've read other reports that changing both blue filters didn't correct the Blue fringe issue. If that’s true then what else could be the problem? Why would the Blue LCD panel panel fail before all the others? Logically all 3 LCD panels are identical, meaning they are B/W, not Red, Green, and Blue. With the polarizers doing all the actual color work, right?

Could the actual prism come into play? Can it be damaged by heat? Is there any play in the prism, can it be moved up and down to rule it out as the culprit?

Sorry for all the questions. I'm prepared to crack the case and order the parts but only if someone else has the same issue and reports that changing out the Blue polarizers fixed it. It appears that I'd need IN and OUT Blue filters, about $240.00 in parts. With this problem it has no resale value and I hadn't planned to replace it until 1080P 120hz projectors came down in price. I can't bear to trash such an expensive purchase but the Blue fringe is making me crazy!

Thanks for any help,
Bob

Sorry to welcome you to the club Bob. Great questions to which I don't have the answers. All I can tell you is I had the same problem. I dismantled the PJ (quite easy, info is on here) and examined the polarizers. There was no obvious damage. This combined with how others had been quoted thousands of dollars to replace the polarizers AND optical block in their units led me to the conclusion that this is not a cheap fix and that my dollars would be better spent on a new unit.

The next concern I had was what PJ's are prone to this? I was tempted to pick up one of the new Sony VW40 but didn't want to be tossing another multi-thousand dollar unit in a couple of years. So I'm now the proud owner of a new $1K AW15. If it happens to this I can deal with that much loss. I'm hoping that by the end of this one's lifespan I'll be able to spend ~$3K on a spectacular PJ with a much better lifespan.

even though you are out of warranty if you're willing to buy another sony you may be able to get approx $1200 off the price of a replacement cost of vpl50 or vpl60 tha you purchase off the sonystyle website if you make a formal complaint of the blue smear problem to the sony special customer service section in NY

Any further information on this, Cerriiga.?

when you call the Sony "customer service" number ask the rep to get the phone number for the supervisory level complaint committee in NY and then call that number to get current details to escalate your complaint to NY for review-ultimately NY will offer you $1200 discount from sony style full retail pricing on a new projector

Hey,
I had the blue smear over 65% of my screen. It's warranty ran out in Dec. of '06. I had given up on it and was planning on buying another PJ. On a lark, I got a RMA from Sony's online site. I got A UPS label for $12 and shipped it to them on 9/7. I followed up and tracked the RMA on their site. On 9\17 the site said it would cost me $2239.85 to fix my projector. I called Laredo and spoke to a nice lady on the phone and asked her about the charge. Okay everybody here's what she said. "Oh that's a mistake, we'll fix if for you under warranty" I asked how much she said.....wait for it...NOOOOOOO CHARRRRRRRRGE! When I could breathe again, I asked what about my expired warranty, she "No really, you pay nothing." I asked about shipping it back, She said you should have it by the end of the week......no charge. Lo and behold, UPS deliverd my projector on 9/20. Ladies and gentlemen, I highly reccommend, if your HS-51 has a case of the "Blue Meanies", jump on this ASAP, cause Sony has never been that known for it's customer service and this all may be a fluke. Any way YMMV but my PJ is throwing a beautiful image and I couldn't be happier.

Has anyone since had this luck??? Was this a mistake or have others encountered them addressing this problem (if you attack it the right way w/polite persistence as dartinbout did??)

HS51 - Purchase 12/19/2005. 2200Hrs. $2500 New bulb 75hrs. $300


Blue smear at bottom of screen and spreading North like African bees.

Pricelesss ---- I think not. At over 1$ /hr this is quite a bit more expensive than anticipated.


Called Sony and asked about partial warranty. The sort make me think they might help but absolutely will not commit to anything. Cost $120 to get it checked out ----- Can anyone make a recommendation on how to proceed?

Count yourself lucky mickpb, many of us Canucks got bent over much worse than that. Mine cost me $4K up here. :mad:

Good lesson learned I suppose. Yeah thats it.....

Any other links or forums on this topic?

ok i have read through so many people with this problem. Got mine from ebay and had no warranty. Called and talked with sony parts and service. They estimated cost to fix mine at $125 for the two blue polarizer to $1800 for the optical block, and that was parts only. I was not happy, got the idea to poke a plastic zip tie in the case and over 10 min the center of the screen cleared up some. It was only the center, not sure what i poked while pj was on but the center of the screen cleared up some, and now have a cleared up circle in the very center. I think i had bumped the blue polarizer. I ended up taking the optical block out and checked it out, could see the same pattern on the blue lcd/polarizer assembly. Still could not get it to clear up and the polarizers on mine are glued in. I did not take the polarizers off to see what exactly had the pattern. But found a cheap way to cut down how much blur was showing. I got some white tissue paper, cut it into a strip and basicly made a filler to block the blue some, slide it down between the clear block and the blue lcd panel and tape it in place, works good for me but hurts the image just a little, but if you can live with that then, there is my fix, I will keep trying to fix it and poste the better fix if can fix it

Thats weird that your polarizers are glued in. On mine they all come out attached to a frame and you can remove each one by unscrewing a screw. My fix was to spend $1000 on an AW15. If it gets the same problem at least I'll "only" be out $1k. It really burns me to see my otherwise fine HS51 just sitting there gathering dust. :(

This won't help your issues but I just wanted to chime in here. I am still running a sony VPL w400q ( fantastic product for it's time! ) that I purchased in 1997. They had the same issue with heat from the bulb burning the blue plate even back then. I have replaced my blue plate on this 2 times myself and 2 times under warrenty. The rest of the time I just lived with it. People actually would pop in their old "burned" blue plate when breaking in a new bulb. 300 hrs later when the new bulb was supposedly not as hot, back went the new blue plate. You think they would have remedied this weakness by now. Good luck!

P

My HS50 started a slight blue smear around 3000 hours, getting much worse at 4500, and just this week (4800hrs?), the blue panel started dying (creeping yellow areas). I disassembled today.

The first ("in") polarizers all seem perfect under natural light, but under a halogen, the blue and green have a slight milky 16:9 rectangle. Taking out the prism block, the blue panel damage is obvious. I even scraped the glue out and examined the little glass plates between this panel and the prism. They also have slight milkiness. (Anyone know why there are two?)

Now, a new prism block will be more than the PJ is worth, but I was wondering if anyone had tried stealing the R or G panel from another block, and swapping it with their broken B panel?

The alignment will likely be poor, but at least it would be more usable than a huge yellow blob. Anyone with a broken HS50/51 who wants to sell me those bits?

Taking out the prism block, the blue panel damage is obvious. I even scraped the glue out and examined the little glass plates between this panel and the prism. They also have slight milkiness.

Can you describe what the damage to the blue panel looked like.

6 months later - I have new projector and quite a story. I "communicated" with various persons at Sony until they offered a reduced price on a new projector which I accepted. The credit card of course was charged many days before the projector shipped but it arrived and is nice. It was interesting that no signature was required?? Anyway after having the projector for only a few days I recall that I have extended warranty on the Visa that I purchased the projector with. I called and they said - "No problem your covered" ------WHAT!!!!!!!!!!!!-------- Just need to get a repair quote. Getting a repair quote was like asking for hens teeth. Sony won't even quote the price of the prism for a Sony authorized repair center and definitely won't quote over the phone. So..... what to do. I call Manila again and get an RMA number and send the projector to Laredo and head out on vacation. Couple weeks later not a word other than the email -"Your project has arrived at the Laredo service center - so sorry you are having problems blah blah". Call Manila back--- "Your projector is fixed sir" --- Oh cool when will it be back and ummm what are the charges ------"Uhhh you need to call Laredo". after about 5 calls to Laredo each one ending in we'll call you back and no answer and a subsequent call to the national something or another center so dufus at Sony tells me that my HS51 has been consumed------ Uhhhh whats that mean --- You didn't throw it away did you -------- "It was consumed sir" - Your projector was consumed because of the exchange deal that you agreed to. I dig out the receipt (that by the way I had to call and request) and sure enough it says exchange -No one told me that and I had even asked if I needed to return the old projector before agreeing the exchange ----- Mind you 6 weeks have passed since the new projector arrived and not one peep from them about any expected return. -----Several more calls to Sony requesting a estimate of repairs and no help. what so ever. ---------Finally I call Visa and explain also give them the phone number of one helpful person at Sony. Apparently he vouched for me as 5 days later I have check for the exact amount I paid for the new projector. ---- I was so please I called VISA and immediately purchased an extended warranty for the new projector too. I was so pleased I didn't even comparison shop. Now I just need to decide on the new flat screen

--------------Hmmmmm think it will be a Sony?

--- You decide but if I need an extended warranty I will be calling Visa warranty manager

Samsung ln52a750 arrives tomorrow. First choice would've been Sony w4100 but shame on those who make the same mistake twice

My blue screen smear has been developing over the past few months. Sent the HS51 to Laredo. I was told that it needs a new prism assembly (977 bucks) plus a blue and a green in-polarizer (about 130 bucks each). After calling around to the technical service desk a few times, I spoke with Juan. He seems to know what is going on with these projectors, since he supervises their inspection and repair.

I asked him the following two questions:
1. What if I only replaced the polarizers, and skipped the prism assembly?
A - the main problem is with the prism assembly (in the blue LCD). Just replacing the polarizers won't make it look any better. However, if I only did the prism assembly and didn't change the polarizers, things might look so-so, but not good (as both are having problems).

2. Can you just change out the blue LCD, instead of replacing the whole prism assembly?
A - The prism assembly is built in a factory far, far away. Laredo doesn't have the parts or the tools to replace and realign one LCD panel (he says that specialized tools and equipment is needed to align properly).

Bottom line - over $1500 if I want it fixed.

Solution? spend a bit more than 100 bucks over this "repair" price, and get myself a brand new Epson 6100 1080p light cannon. However, this time I'm buying a 5 year warranty from my retailer, so I can have a bit longer peace of mind.

Hello everybody,

I own a HS50 in Spain. I understand that I have exactly the same problem with it: blue polarizer and different shade rectangle.

Actually I have an additional problen: my English. So I'm not sure if I have understood well the mesages in this forum. I would to ask anybody to explain me in easy words :) if there is any reasonable solution to fix this problem.

Thanks for the suuport

Hey guys,

Any updates on this? I got one of these projectors and the blue smear is starting to happen for me too. Based on what I'm reading in this thread, it sounded like one person may have gotten lucky and gotten a fix but everyone else is pretty much SOL on this. Any ideas? How about a recommendation for a comparable projector that doesn't go bad....

Thanks!

The first thing I did when I got my VPL-HS20 was to put the fan speed on "high altitude" mode. Even though I live well below 500 feet ASL, I find that the higher fan speed keeps tho whole internal stuff cooler. I also change the filter every 500 hrs instead of the 1000 hours that is in the manual.

This way the internal "guts" stay cooler, and have good flow of fresh air. My HS20 has over 1200 hrs on it now, and looks just like new.

We will see though..

Can you describe what the damage to the blue panel looked like.

Sorry Paul, I missed this question. The damage looked like a tree growing in from one edge, drawn on a Magna-Doodle toy. I don't have a close up photo, but here is one of how it looks when projected.

That looks like the LCD panel is failing. since the edges are perfect squares, there is no way that a blue panel could cause that.

I had this happen to me during a very hot summer a few years ago and shipped it back to Sony.

They fixed the blue polarizer and the problem went away, I saw the blue smear, then a bluish-purple smear before I finally sent it in.

The bill was around $500 according to the invoice, if I didn't fabricate a dated receipt.

bought my HS51 in late winter 2005.
1st-bulb lasted about 700 hours
2nd-bulb has lasted 3000 and still going

Just started seeing the blue smear about 3 months ago (4 years no problems)

It is still "moving around", so maybe if I pull the back panel off, put in a new filter, and run in high-fan mode from now on it'll be fine.

My projector is mounted about 8 inches from my ceiling near a back-wall.
I wonder if older bulbs burn hotter as they get older and as a result, cause this problem.

that might make sense if the power supply continues to deliver the same power to the bulb but its efficiency is decreasing with age. Lower light-output would mean more heat output...

in any case, I plan to run home tonight and...
1. pull the back panel off
2. put in a new filter
3. switch my custom User1 mode to have high-fan mode active at all times.

The blue isn't too bad yet and isn't yet a consistent pattern, so maybe I'll save it yet?
Maybe the best thing I can do is a new bulb if my hypothesis above has any merit...